Be Accountable – Take Responsibility for Your Actions

I once worked with another manager I avoided whenever I could. She complained a lot and constantly blamed someone on her team when something went wrong. She seemed incapable of taking personal responsibility for any situation. Since she was a colleague, I felt comfortable pointing out that she had choices. But when I did muster up my courage and confront her, the response was typically something like, "Don't look at me. It's not MY fault." She did not want to be accountable for her actions.

An effective leader is supposed to take responsibility, which means accepting the role to take action and follow through. But when bad things happen, if you had something to do with the outcome, it's natural to want to place the blame somewhere else. No one likes to face the possibility of humiliation and embarrassment. At least temporarily, you get relief from your own discomfort by pointing the finger at another person instead of examining your own part in the situation.

The problem is, deep down you know you were responsible for the consequences. Trying to deny your role only leads to diminished self-respect and self-esteem. And most likely the people on your team will eventually find out, if they don't already know, so you risk losing their respect, too. The smart move is to recognize and own up to the part you played in the way things turned out. The faster you admit that something is your fault, the quicker others are to get over it and move on.

It's worth doing the right thing, even though it may be hard at first. When you're willing to apologize and make amends, two good things happen. First, you'll respect yourself more. And you'll strengthen your relationship with your team members because they will respect you when you're strong enough to own up to your mistakes. You aren't perfect, and they don't expect you to be. What they do want is for you to model accountability for them, to show that you're willing to take responsibility for your actions.

You face the decision about whether or not to be accountable every day. Let these words from the author Elisabeth Kübler-Ross remind you about the right approach to have when you're considering whether to take responsibility for your actions: "We are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime."

Copyright Meredith Bell, M.A., Your Voice of Encouragement.